Sewer Spill and Graffiti Updates

Update on Dog Beach Sewer Spill

by Dave Gilbert / July 1, 2009

As of 9 this morning the danger signs are still up at Dog Beach where the S.D. river meets the ocean or “where the debris hits the sea” on down South to “the rump”, but the difference is that today nobody (dogs or people ) were in the water,.

I ran into a good pal of mine down there named Bobby who’s a pretty hard core surfer and he told me that when the spill happened on Sunday, there were no warning signs and that he basically was surfing around the “pile-ons”. We figured that with all of the cutbacks that it must be volunteers that are now checking our waters for purity. I’m sure glad ha we spent all that money a few years back on a special election to get Gray Davis out and have the Governator get in there and fix Cal-ee-forn-yah.

Bobby told me that “the stink was really bad down on Friars Rd. where the I-5 and the trolley tracks cross over the river”. Makes sense since the river is low that the flow must be slow.

We also discussed how easy it was to get a Staph infection and how the Dog Beach in Del Mar is also where a river empties into the Pacific Ocean. He said that they call that “Shit Beach” because of the horses from the Race Track.

As I headed back home I saw a surfer going towards the beach so I asked him if he was going to brave the sewage. He said, “no” and that “he was heading south” towards the pier because “he didn’t want to get a Staph infection”.

I’m not sure how long the signs will be up as there were no lifeguards on duty at the time to discuss the matter with.

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Taggers Are Hitting Murals on Utility Boxes

by Jon Carr / July 1, 2009

We’re seeing more and more murals and electric boxes with actual “art” being hit by taggers. Apparently there’s supposed to be some sort of street code that says you don’t tag someone’s already established artwork. These taggers don’t seem to care about that and are happy to ruin something beautiful that someone spent alot of time and energy on.

Does anyone know a way to contact the artists who have painted some of these murals or boxes to let them know and see if they can touch up their artwork? Specifically the laundry mat on Point Loma Ave. Also some of the electric boxes along Newport near the US Bank ATM.

Any help would be appreciated. If the murals continue to be tagged and start to look junky, the owners of the properties will be required to paint over the nice murals. We would rather have palm trees, whales and sunsets than battleship grey.

Editor: We’ve also heard reports of graffiti on the mural at the Wash and Dry on Abbott Street. Anyone have ideas on how to deal with that?

Good luck finding info about this sewer spill, other than news articles saying that it happened. The City Wastewater Dept. has nothing on their web page and neither does Councilmember Faulconer. Just because we are in tough times doesn’t mean being proactive on the Health and Safety of our people and dogs isn’t a priority!

Man, this really sucks. I’d have at least hoped even lowlife gangbangers could’ve respected urban artwork and found an alternate canvas for their tags, but I guess I should’ve know that was optimistic thinking.

Someone mentioned some sort of graffiti-removal product on another post called Elephant Snot or something like that, does anyone know if this could remove the recent tags with no or limited damage to the existing murals?

I’m not certain about the elephant snot, but I’ve been using a biodegradeable graffiti remover on the telephone poles, railings and some concrete around my street, and that stuff would tear up the artists original work for sure! It’s pretty gnarly.

We were able to contact the artist that did the mural in the picture shown. He asked that we use a light blue or white paint to cover up the tagging, and he will eventually come down to touch up the mural and make it look nice again. It really is a shame that someone puts so much hard work into a really nice painting, and kids feel it’s ok to deface it. I think that’s worse than the tagging on the cliff wall.

In other news, we are making headway. The cliff wall is only being tagged in small manageable areas. The kids are pissed and have started breaking off large chunks of the wall, which is to be expected. But we have received nothing but good vibes and praise from all of the locals and others who have passed by while we’re working.

If you would like to get more involved with future clean up activities, or would like to take care of your own alleyway or block, contact me through the Obrag and I can help get you started.

They caught a tagger today! Ed who helped with the paint out watches the cliffs like a hawk. He and another local resident who lives at the edge of the cliff area were talking when they saw a 28 year old male tagging the wall. For once, there was a cop standing nearby. They flagged him down and caught the guy (literally) red handed. There’s always a cop when you DON’T need one, and never one when you do. I guess today was the exception. Nice work Ed!

Well Gary, we all know Cheney would send the guy to the freakin’ gas chamber.
I’ve been pretty active lately in organizing the paint out and helping clean up the cliff area. But that’s really where my involvement ends. I’m personally not out to “catch” anybody. If it happens by chance like it did with the guys yesterday, great. I think they should be made to do a little community service (painting out tagging comes to mind). But that’s really not up to me. I just want a clean beach and park area for everyone to enjoy. I’m not condoning or partaking in any sort of vigilante action out there. Just trying to take pride in my hood.

p.s. Does anyone else think 28 is a little old to be playing with markers down on the cliff wall?

hi everyone. On this July 4th I want to say thanks for all the support from everyone on the graffiti issue. the walls look great and the effort is spreading over the entire 92106 92107 areas.
As far as catching these taggers, the rewards (both in money & elimination of the graffiti) are why I’m more pro active. However, if anyone feels uncomfortable doing that, that’s your choice. I don’t want anyone to get hurt or do anything unlawfull & violence is not the answer either. we have to be smarter than the enemy.
If everyone continues to contribute to the clean up & monitoring of the problem, it will go away.
I have photos and the name of the tagger caught at the cliffs.
I think they should be posted on obrag to let everyone know who is doing damage to our town.
let me know if you want them.
keep up the good work, ed

Liked the Beacon article, quickly eliminating the taggers work is what I try to do too. Although I’ve ruined one speed limit sign with too aggresive a remover. If there are areas frequently hit, post them, wouldn’t mind spending some off time there with a decent camera.

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